Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli spoke with the media Thursday in anticipation of the NHL’s free agency period opening Friday. The Bruins have two players set to hit unrestricted free agency in winger Michael Ryderand defenseman Tomas Kaberle. The GM said that ties have not been severed with either player, but that the B’s likely won’t be active in the early stages of free agency.

“Certainly theres no finality to our relationship,” Chiarelli said of Kaberle. “What we’ve agreed to with Tomas and his agent is that he would look into the market and we would continue to talk with him. ‘¦ Let me be perfectly clear, there’s no end to the relationship because we haven’t signed him to this point.”

Chiarelli noted that if the Bruins are unable to retain Kaberle, he will look both in-house and elsewhere for his replacement on the Bruins’ blue line.

He also indicated that the B’s are taking the same approach with Ryder, and that if the players take deals with other teams, the Bruins are willing to accept that fate.

“I’m wary of the market and where it stands now,” Chiarelli said. “I said, ‘Look guys, go out there, see what’s going on and let’s continue to talk.’ The risk that we run is that they get a deal and then they can’t come back to us, and I understand that risk. That’s where those two guys stand.”

Depending on what the B’s do with Ryder, Kaberle, restricted free agent Brad Marchand and what happens with Marc Savard, the team could be in good standing with the league’s salary cap (set for $64.3 million next season). Despite the fact that they should have money to spend, allocating resources to multiple years could make things difficult for the Bruins, as both David Krejciand Tuukka Raskwill see their current contracts expire after the coming season.Tyler Seguin‘s deal is up in two years, and one would have to assume all three players will see increases in pay.

“It certainly impacts it,” Chiarelli said of knowing they have future raises to give. “I’m a little wary of the market, first and foremost. The cap is high, and the cap is certainly going to come down in some shape or form, so generally speaking, I’m wary of the market and where I think it may be going.

“Two, and a close two, is that we do have guys that we warrant to re-sign, and they’re going to command raises. I’m really not in a position to go out and give a guy a big-term contract. I think thwart we can find that help elsewhere other than a big-term contract and still be in a good position to re-sign our guys as they come up the next year or two.”

The Bruins qualified restricted free agents Marchand, Andrew Bodnarchuk and Stefan Chaput. Chiarelli said that negotiations with Marchand have not yet begun.

The GM also said that the team will not re-sign defenseman Shane Hnidy, who served as a healthy scratch/depth player during the stretch run and postseason. Hnidy, 35, played three games in both the regular season and postseason.

“We’ve told Shane that we aren’t re-signing him,” Chiarelli said. “I think he’ll be a good addition somewhere else, and I told him that. Certainly I’d help him along the way for that.”

As for whether the list of Bruins’ targets may be shrinking, Chiarelli admitted that some players have been taken out of consideration in recent days. The rights of players set to hit free agency have been traded, which may factor into that.

“I have a big whiteboard in my office and I have our interest list and I have our secondary list,” he said. “Yes, there are names knocked off. Just because they’re on our interest list doesn’t mean we’re going to go off and sign them, but certainly we’re going to explore them. And I’ve crossed off names.”

One thing that came up time and time again was Chiarelli noting how “wary” of the market he was. He assessed the crop as being less than outstanding, which may be a reason why he would have reservations about making a big splash.

“I look at my board and I see the number of players and the quality of players,” he said. “And the numbers may be the same, [but] the quality is … there’s just not the high end players. Then of course you’ve got the floor of the cap and teams have to spend, so you’re going to get contracts I think that, maybe that, they’re generally higher in the unrestricted market, but I even think they’ll be that added premium because teams have to spend. … That’s why I’m a little cautious going into this market. There’s not the supply that there normally is, and I think the demand is greater because of the cap floor and teams have to spend.”

As the world continues to have a laugh over pictures of Brad Marchand and the Bruins’ bar tab (did you hear they had a $100,000 bottle of champagne?) to the point where the dead horse couldn’t possibly take another blow, the Stanley Cup champions are getting ready to add a potential franchise player.

The B’s will pick ninth overall in Friday’s NHL draft, finally closing the book on the Phil Kessel trade as they add one of the top players in a draft widely considered to be a notch below that of last year’s. Given that Toronto’s selection is slotted ninth, it’s safe to say the B’s will add one Central Scoutings’ highest-rated players.

Here are the top 15 skaters in this year’s draft accoriding to Central Scouting.

Of course, Central Scouting isn’t everything, as we saw last year. The top-ranked player (Tyler Seguin) went second overall, and it looks like the Hurricanes weren’t crazy when they drafted the 34th-ranked North American skater (Jeff Skinner) seventh overall.

Whoever the Bruins take with the ninth pick (assuming, as Peter Chiarelli indicated Thursday, they stay put), don’t expect him to be in Boston next season. Chiarelli told reporters in Minnesota that based on the players he expected to be on the board at No. 9, the player the B’s select will not be NHL ready. That means bad news for Seguin, who jokingly expressed hope on breakup day that someone else could be ‘the kid’ next season and that everyone would be on the draft pick’s case instead of his.

Chiarelli said his intention is to draft the best available player, and given that this draft is top-heavy when it comes to defense, that player may be a blueliner. Picking defense would give the B’s a blue-chipper in an area in which it organizationally does not have a sure-fire star in the making, and it would also be somewhat of a deviation for Chiarelli. The highest the Bruins’ GM has selected a defenseman was 35th overall, when the B’s traded up in the second round to grab Tommy Cross 35th overall.

If the B’s spend the ninth pick on a defenseman, you can bet your bippy theTomas Kaberlerumors will swirl, and there will obviously be two easy arguments. If the team has a young puck-mover (we’ll get to the players below) with star potential a year or two away, perhaps they could try to go with Steven Kampfer next season (and beyond) and let Kaberle walk. On the other hand, the Bruins happen to have just won the Stanley Cup, and the Vezina winner isn’t getting any younger. There isn’t much of a window closing for the Bruins given that they are good and young both offensively and behind Tim Thomas (remember Tuukka Rask?), but they certainly want to win now.

With all that being said, here are some of the guys who have been common Bruins’ selections in mock drafts and/or might make sense for the B’s at No. 9:

An offensive-minded defenseman, Murphy’s 26 goals were the most among OHL blueliners this past season. Considered a plus-skater and strong passer, he could eventually offer more than the Bruins are currently getting out of Kaberle on the power play. The Bruins certainly showed in the Kaberle deal that a defenseman who can help the offense is a priority, so landing one for the long term would be a wise move if Murphy is still on the board. Given that he’s ranked 9th by Central Scouting among North American skaters, it could be close. Murphy is also a right-handed shot. The Bruins’ blue line was lefty-dominant last season, withJohnny Boychuk and Adam McQuaid (and, at points, Kampfer) the only righty defensemen in the lineup.

Beaulieu is another strong-skating defenseman, though his speed won’t get confused with that of Murphy. He still brings an impressive offensive skill set to the blue line, and he certainly offers more size than Murphy. He would most certainly be the puck-moving defenseman of the future if the B’s were to select him.

Another center? With the Bruins, you never know. You have to figure that Seguin will eventually become a full-time center once he’s done being eased in, but there are enough question marks in the future to make selecting a center not seem so crazy. Excluding Marc Savardgiven all the uncertainty, Patrice Bergeronand Seguin are the only pivots signed past next season (David Krejci will be a restricted free agent, whileChris KellyandGregory Campbell will be unrestricted).

The bulkiest of the blueliners featured in this sample, many things you read about about Siemens will suggest he’s behind some of the other defensemen in this draft as far as both development and potential go. Still, he’s strong, and though he doesn’t bring the same bells and whistles that guys like Murphy and Beaulieu do, he could still be a welcome presence on Claude Julien‘s blue line eventually.

Bruins center Marc Savardwas able to make it to Boston from his Peterborough, Ontario home to celebrate the team’s Stanley Cup victory with his teammates at Saturday’s rolling rally. That’s the good news for Savard, who is still suffering from post-concussion syndrome after being concussed twice over the past two seasons.

Savard, who has six more years on his contract, did not indicate whether he plans to retire or try to make a return next season, saying he did not want to take to become the story on a day in which the city was celebrating the city’s first Cup in 39 years.

“It’s really the furthest thing from my mind right now to be honest with you,” the two-time All-Star said Saturday of potentially returning in the fall. “I just want to enjoy it here and let the boys take the spotlight here because they earned it.”

As for his current status, he said he has seen some improvements since his most recent concussion, suffered in January in a game against the Avalanche, but did note that his short-term memory problems have been “terrible.”

“I’m feeling better. I mean I still have my days here and there,” Savard said. “But it’s been tough, that’s for sure, especially watching and stuff like that.”

Savard did not make the trip to Vancouver to watch Game 7 of the finals. Plane rides can be bad for people with concussions, and though Nathan Horton, who also had a concussion, travelled, one would imagine Savard’s symptoms were worse.

“It was a long flight and stuff like that. So I just stayed at home,” Savard said. “It was a weird feeling, I was kind of around for a couple of games at home, I didn’t really want to just stick my nose in it, I know the boys earned it. So I didn’t want to take any of the spotlight or anything away from anybody that worked so hard.”

General manager Peter Chiarelli said Friday that he will petition to have both Savard and Steven Kampfer’s names on the Stanley Cup. Savard played only 25 games of the required 41 games (or one Stanley Cup finals game), while Kampfer played in 38.

“That’s special,” Savard said of potentially being on the Cup. “Like I said, Peter has been fantastic with me ever since I came here in day one. And he was one of the reasons I did come. So I mean, words can’t explain it right now. It’s been a long road that’s for sure.”

VANCOUVER — It wasn’t immediately clear whether Nathan Hortonwould be well enough to endure a coast-to-coast flight, but the concussed Bruins forward did indeed make the trip to Vancouver to watch his team play Wednesday’s Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals.

“He certainly wanted to be here. We wanted him on this trip,” coachClaude Juliensaid Tuesday. “As you know, when you get this far, you’re a pretty close-knit group. Our guys wanted everybody here and they’ve got it.”

Horton suffered a severe concussion that ended his season when he was dropped by Canucks defenseman Aaron Rome early in Game 3 of the series. The first-line right wing left the game and arena in a stretcher and was ruled out for the remainder of the playoffs the next day. Rome, meanwhile, was suspended for four games for the hit. Horton was at TD Garden for Game 6, being shown on the Jumbotron with tears in his eyes waving a pair of Bruins flags.

Now, the Bruins have left Horton’s equipment in his locker, a sign that he is still just as big a part of the team as anyone else. Given that he came to the Bruins with a reputation as a player who was indifferent to the game, the former third overall pick certainly made a strong impression on his teammates in his first year in Boston and found an NHL home.

“That’s something the guys wanted to do,” Julien said of the equipment gesture. “They wanted him to be part of our group here. Until, again, the third game of the playoffs, he was a big contributor to our hockey club. If the doctors would let him, he would play [Wednesday] and we all know that that’s the way he feels right now. He would be willing to play through what he’s gone through.

“But we know that’s not the right decision to make. But that’s the way he’s feeling right now. He wants to play so badly, he would be willing to play through that. So when a guy has that approach and has that will to want to do that for his team and teammates, the least you can do is honor him in your own way. Our players chose to honor him by making sure the trainers brought his equipment. Before the game, his sweater is hanging in his stall. He’s part of our team and we want him there to the end.”

One man who will not be at Rogers Arena Wednesday isMarc Savard. Like Horton, Savard is dealing with issues from a concussion, though Savard’s history of concussions likely make traveling more difficult. Savard has been in attendance at for a couple of games in Boston, a significantly shorter trip from Peterborough, Ontario, this postseason.

“Marc is probably the only one right now that’s not here, and his health varies from day to day, week to week,” Julien said. “He’s still in our thoughts and he’s part of our hockey club as well. We’ve got a lot of guys that are part of this and some of them are here and one of them isn’t.”

Horton developed a reputation as a clutch player in his first postseason this year, scoring series-clinching goals in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals and finals. He had eight goals and nine assists for 17 points and a plus-11 in 21 games.

Bruins center Marc Savard will be at Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals between the B’s and Lightning, marking his first return to TD Garden since being shut down for the season on Feb. 7.

Savard is dealing with post-concussion syndrome following a clean hit from former teammate Matt Hunwick on Jan. 22 in Colorado. Since being shut down for the regular season and playoffs, Savard has stayed at home in Peterborough, Ontario. The 33-year-old had two goals and eight assists for 10 points in 25 games this year. He began the season on long-term injured reserve due to PCS from the hit he took last March 7 from Penguins forward Matt Cooke.

The Bruins to not have expect to have Marc Savard in the house for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, though coach Claude Julien confirmed Saturday that the center, who is recovering from post-concussion syndrome, is expected to make the trip to Boston during the series.

“I think he’s supposed to be coming down at some point,” Julien said after Saturday’s morning skate. “I’m not quite sure exactly what day or which game, but he’s supposed to come down. He might be here on the weekend for all I know. I heard something about it a while back, and I can’t say I remember exactly the date.

“No doubt, he’s a part of our hockey club. He’s always welcomed here any time he wants to come down. I know he’s trying to get over a concussion that’s really set him back, and we’ve given him that space and that time. Being around the family is a good way to help yourself through that also. He’s always been welcomed here whenever he needs to see doctors or he wants co tome around the team, he’s welcome to do that.”

Since suffering his most recent concussion in late January and being shut down for the season, Savard has spent his time back home in Peterborough, Ontario.

PHILADELPHIA — There’s been no sign ofMarc Savard since he sat at a podium, choked up, as general manager Peter Chiarelli announced the center’s season was finished on Feb. 7 at TD Garden. The 33-year-old returned to his home in Peterborough, Ontario, and since then, neither Bruins fans nor the media have heard a peep from the center. They’ve heard about him, as he reportedly has dealt with memory issues, but have gotten nothing from the horse’s mouth.

On Sunday, Claude Julien touched on the contact that he’s had with Savard since he was shut down due to post-concussion syndrome. Text-messaging has kept the two in touch, with Savard even trying to help his boss call the shots at times.

“I’ve been texting back and forth with Marc, no doubt. For me personally, there’s the player and then there’s the individual. I care for him as an individual and I really hope that he gets better for the ask of his personal life,” Julien said after Sunday’s practice. “I’ve been texting to see how he’s doing, and every once in a while I’ve said, ‘I thought you were going to text me to give me some tips on certain parts of our game.’ As soon as I opened that door, he took advantage of it. I’ve gotten a few tips from him.”

One area in which Savard should be instructing Julien is the power play. The B’s are 0-for-26 thus far in the postseason, and Julien admitted Sunday that the unit’s performance might not be so bleak if they still had a healthy Savard.

“He was a guy that did such a good job on the power play,” Julien said. “We definitely miss him there, and that’s not a big secret. The way he was just poised and playing those areas, where to move the puck, it certainly created some awareness for the other team. They knew how dangerous he was. That’s a part where, yeah, we lost that part when we lost Marc Savard. It’s not a part that’s easily replaceable.

“Somehow we’ve got to find a way to improve our power play without Marc Savard. It’s been a challenge, but even Marc this year was not as good a player as he was before that major injury of his, and I still remember the first few years I had him. You couldn’t have asked for a better power play guy. When you lose a guy like that, you’re losing a real good player and a real good piece of your power play.”